VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

JohnnyLee1 Never sags. Lead actor Richard Dormer is worth the watching and he sings as well! The character of Terri Hooley is portrayed as funny, energetic, brave, a bit manic and the movie matches him on all points.

Adam Peters (54%) A likable film about a likable, largely unknown man who opens a Belfast record shop during the troubled 1970's, and in a similar vane to Brian Epstein helps change the course of music history. There really isn't a whole lot here in terms of surprises, and some of the ideas really don't work as well as others such as Hooley's comedic, rather silly hallucinations, but this still tells its quite informative story well. Although its finest asset is the fact that it shows that it's possible to have real significance in a very competitive industry without ever selling millions of records and becoming mega rich, which is something this film more or less is all about to the point of relishing in it.

love-gordon I have been waiting for this movie all my adult life. It is a reaffirmation of my personal history and that of my city, Belfast. Punk made Belfast what it is to-day and the energy of the film reflects this. All aspects of the movie excel, but for me personally it is the first accurate, contemporary celluloid portrayal of my community – aggressive black humour, dogged determination underpinned with old fashioned sentimentality and a lack of respect for the Establishment. Protestants in Northern Ireland are often portrayed as rather dour and unaesthetic. Whilst Catholics tend to be seen as more creative and artistic,indeed Catholics are much more successful in the arts than Protestants. This in no way suggests that Protestants are discriminated against in the arts, we are not, but have simply been lagging behind, until now. So it is no mean feat that that the Good Vibrations movie shows the Protestant community in a refreshingly healthy and artistic light. For the benefit of readers from outside of Northern Ireland the two main bands portrayed in the movie and their fans where Protestant as were the initial wave of local punk bands, punk in Northern Ireland originated in the East Belfast Protestant heartland, Terri Hooley (the owner of Good Vibrations) came from the Protestant community, as did his partners in the record shop and the committee set up by Terry to run the famous Harp Bar were Protestant and of course the writers of the movie were Protestants. So I think that it is true to say that the Protestant ethic and history of rebellion fuelled the Northern Ireland punk scene from the start. Well done to all concerned.

dromasca 'It didn't matter what color your hair was, or whether you were a Protestant or a Catholic, it just mattered that you were a punk.' This was and probably still is the motto in life of Terri Hooley, the man who inspired the film Good Vibrations directed by Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn, whose screening was occasioned by the British film festival.We are introduced in the atmosphere of the 70s by a number of newsreels of the period. While the flower power, pop, hippie movements were winning over much of the world with their message of peace and non-violence and with their music times were tough for Northern Ireland where the religious conflict entered in a violent phase which was going to leave more then 3000 people dead on all sides. Terri Hooley comes from a political involved family, his father was an idealistic Communist, and Terri loses an eye as a kid in a hate act. His great passion is however music, and with music he tries to bridge the gaps between communities, to bring together people around good and beauty, to what should be normality in a world of conflict and violence. And then the opportunity shows up, as he discovers the young people trying to escape the constraints of the society but also of the conventional culture and express themselves and their feelings in in the visceral and straight roughness of punk music. Hooley will help the emerging Northern-Irish punk bends record and distribute their music, and transform Belfast in one of the punk capitals of the world. Suddenly the city known in the news only for conflict and violence becomes a point of cultural interest, a stage for new and innovative music which crosses communities, religions, and haircuts.Good Vibration is a simple and direct film about the power of music, about the capacity of doing good in evil times, about the beauty and necessity of escapism. Actor Richard Dorner draws a passionate portrait of a man who lives for music, who believes that music can bridge and heals. It is not an idealized portrait, as family life falls victim to Hooley's passion, and this aspect is not neglected. It's not a perfect film, some of the supporting characters could have been developed for example, but overall it's, well, a film that passes good vibrations. And there is a lot of music of course, I have never been a fan of punk, but I may become one.According to the news a few months ago Terri Hooley was attacked and abused in his neighborhood in Belfast. Even if 30 years after the troubles the situation in Norther Ireland is much better than it was, healing and reconciliation may have their chance, sequels of the past still show up and the balance is still fragile. The Good Vibrations shop of Terri Hooley opened and closed a few times. Life has ups and downs, but good sometimes prevails.